PLEASE SHARE: Detectives with the Sarasota Police Department are attempting to identify four suspects who were involved in an aggravated battery incident on November 12, 2015. Detectives have attempted to identify the four suspects through investigation but have been unsuccessful and are now asking for the public’s help. On November 12, 2015 at approximately 9 p.m., Sarasota Police Officers responded to the Exxon/Mobile Station, 2525 North Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, in reference a battery. Upon arrival, the clerk told Officers, four male suspects attempted to purchase a cigar. The suspects were unable to provide any identification so the clerk denied the purchase. The suspects argued with the clerk and left the store.The suspects returned a short time later and confronted the clerk while he was taking garbage to the dumpster outside the store. A verbal dispute occurred between the suspects and the clerk. One of the suspects, an unknown black male, then punched the clerk in the face multiple times. The clerk attempted to protect himself and wrestled the unknown subject to the ground. The three other unknown black males then joined the physical altercation, punching and kicking the victim multiple times.Anyone with information on this case, please call Detective Anthony DeFrancisco at 941-954-7049 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers by calling 941-366-TIPS (8477) or online at www.sarasotacrimestoppers.com

Police in Florida are still on the lookout for four men who beat up on a gas station clerk last month. Incredibly, the surveillance video shows the clerk holding his own against the four thugs; but what the clerk’s co-worker did was also caught on video, and one can imagine he wishes it wasn’t. The altercation began on the night of November 12 when four African American young men waltzed into an Exxon/Mobile station in Sarasota, Fla. As TheBlaze reports, apparently one of the crew wanted to buy some cigars; but the mousy, bespeckled clerk behind the counter wouldn’t sell the smokes because the would-be customer didn’t have any identification as required by law. The surveillance video, focused on the counter, shows that the four ne’er-do-wells seemed to be having words with someone out of camera range, presumably the second clerk who worked at the store. (More on him in a minute.) The four exited the store, and police video then switches to a surveillance camera outside the store, one focused on the gas pumps. The video shows the four guys milling around, and then the second, beefier clerk makes his appearance on the video, still obviously having words with at least one of the disgruntled customers. The second clerk, also an African American, is then seen getting into a more involved argument with one of the four; and seconds later, without warning, the customer punches the clerk. Then, the fight became a melee as the other three guys rushed over to join in on the beatdown of the store clerk. But the clerk proves he isn’t a pushover, and is seen fighting back hard. Next, we see the clerk in the glasses show up again. He wanders out as the fight roils. He stands for a second, then rushes off without offering any help to his co-worker. But the embattled clerk does not prove to be an easy mark for the four attackers, and he is soon back on his feet and giving a thrashing to the man who threw the first punch. It isn’t long before the video shows one of the four trying to wave off the others. Then they struggle to disentangle the clerk and their instigating pal, who seems to be having a tough time of it. In the end, the clerk jumps up in a stance that causes the four to flee. This time, it is the attackers who flee with their tail between their legs. Sarasota police posted the video of the brave clerk and his unhelpful co-worker to their Facebook page in hopes that someone in the public might be able to help identify the attackers so that charges can be brought against them. “Anyone with information on this case,” police posted on the Facebook page, “please call Detective Anthony DeFrancisco at 941-954-7049 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers by calling 941-366-TIPS (8477) or online at www.sarasotacrimestoppers.com.” Police say that the four men will be charged with aggravated battery if caught.